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The Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides (COSIG) brings together 27 freely available resources that explain how to spot image duplication, citation manipulation, plagiarism, tortured phrases and other hallmarks of paper mills — businesses that produce fake papers to order. The guides also provide tips for reviewing papers in specific disciplines, including biology, chemistry, statistics and computer science.

“A lot of people assume that you need some special talent, you need eagle eyes to see things, or you need to be at your computer ten hours a day looking through the scientific literature. But really, anybody can do it,” says Richardson. “That’s one of our mantras.”

The manual: Protecting Your Community From Mining and Other Extractive Operations | A Guide for Resistance | 2d Edition - 2016

Some relevant info from Mining Watch Canada

Χιλιάδες εθελοντές από τη Βόρεια Αφρική ξεκίνησαν στις 9 Ιουνίου μια μεγάλη επίγεια ανθρωπιστική πομπή προς τη Γάζα, με στόχο να σπάσουν τον ισραηλινό αποκλεισμό μέσω Αιγύπτου.

• Water tests from the Kok and Sai rivers near Thailand’s border with Myanmar have revealed elevated arsenic levels, leading Thai officials to warn citizens to avoid contact with river water.

• The pollution is widely believed to be linked to unregulated mining in Myanmar’s Shan state.

• Extraction of gold in Shan State has surged in the years since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar; more recently, mounting evidence suggests rare earth mining is also expanding across the state.

• Elevated arsenic levels have also been found at testing points in the Mekong, which is fed by both the Kok and Sai rivers.

The high seas treaty could become law by the end of the year, affording protection to marine life in the vast swaths of ocean that belong to no one.

The treaty was adopted by UN member states in June 2023. It has been ratified by 31 nations plus the European Union, and comes into force 120 days after its 60th ratification.

But at the UN Ocean Conference this week, hosts France said around 50 countries have ratified the pact, bringing it within reach of enactment. [...]

Ocean acidification has already crossed a crucial threshold for planetary health, scientists say in unexpected finding

Until now, ocean acidification had not been deemed to have crossed its “planetary boundary”. The planetary boundaries are the natural limits of key global systems – such as climate, water and wildlife diversity – beyond which their ability to maintain a healthy planet is in danger of failing. Six of the nine had been crossed already, scientists said last year.

However, a new study by the UK’s Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), the Washington-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Oregon State University’s Co-operative Institute for Marine Resources Studies found that ocean acidification’s “boundary” was also reached about five years ago.

The study: Impact of heatwave amplitude, duration, and timing on parasite fitness at different baseline temperatures

Now, teams of government scientists are reporting widespread coral death, which they say is the worst bleaching to hit the state. There are still areas of live coral, and some bleached coral will recover, but as scientists gather data, the scale of mortality has left many shocked.

Dr Thomas Holmes coordinates the marine science program at the WA government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. [...] “I’m not afraid to use the word unprecedented,” he says.